Hanging tragedy: victim was involved in earlier M65 closure

Breaking News

Published:09:02Wednesday 12 March 2014

The man who was found hanging from a tree in woodland adjacent to the Hard Platts on the Nelson-Brierfield boundary on Tuesday afternoon was the same man officers had spoken to earlier in the day on a bridge over the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, police have confirmed.

Emergency services were called to the scene around 3pm by a man walking his dog, where they discovered the body of the man, said to be in his 20s, of Eastern European heritage and living in the Rupert Street area of Nelson.

On Tuesday morning, police had attended a bridge over the canal in the Reedyford area where the man was standing and closed the M65 in both directions for around 15 minutes while he was spoken to.

DC Charlie Haynes, from Pennine CID, said the man had assured officers he did not have suicidal tendencies and he was returned to the house he shared with his brother.

A crew from Nelson Fire Station was called in to assist with the recovery of the man’s body due to height of the tree from which he was hanging, and the woodland was cordoned off to protect the scene while investigations were carried out.

The facts have been reported to the coroner and an inquest will be opened in due course.